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Washington's first trip to the frontier
In 1748, at the age of sixteen, George Washington traveled into the Western reaches of Virginia to survey lands in the Shenandoah Valley and along the South Branch of the Potomac River for Lord Fairfield. Fairfield was the landowner of millions of acres of land in the Northern Neck, which comprised of the land between the headwaters of the Potomac and Rapprochement rivers. -
Ohio Company granted royal charter
The Ohio Company formed as a land speculation company made up of planters from Virginia's northern Neck, including Lawrence Washington.George Washington's older half-brother.
On this date, King George II signed a royal charter granting the Ohio Company "two hundred thousand acres of land lying within Romanesque. Buffalo's creek on the south side of the river Gilligan otherwise the Ohio, and within the two creeks and the Yellow creek on the north side of the river. -
French fort building in the Ohio country
The Marquis questioned the development of a series of French forts built at key planned locations in the Ohio Valley meant to establish a connection between Lake Erie and the Allegheny River.French goods and supplies were carried 15 miles from Lake Erie to Fort Le Boeuf, which was located on a tributary of the Allegheny River.There, they could be transported by canoe to the forks of the Ohio,near modern day in Pittsburgh;Pennsylvania. -
George Washington creating Ft. Necessity
In June during the Seven Years War, a 22-year-old assistant colonel in the Virginia militia named George Washington begins construction of a temporary Fort Necessity. The fort was built to defend his forces from French soldiers enraged by the murder of Ensign Joseph Coulon de Jumonville while in Washington’s custody. One month later, the French, led by Jumonville’s half-brother, won Washington’s surrender and forced confession to Jumonville’s murder. -
British Victory in Canada
The British won their first great victory at Louisbourg, near the mouth of the St.Lawrence River.A month later,they took Fort Frontenac at the western end of the river.In November,General John Forbes seized Fort Duquesne for the British after the French destroyed and abandoned it,and Fort Pitt named after William Pitt was built on the site,giving the British a key stronghold. James Wolfe won a victory in the Battle of Quebec on the Plains of Abraham. -
William Pitt leading the British
The British Secretary of State William Pitt helped turn the tide with the French. William Pitt turned organization and supplies over to authorities in America and promised to repay them for their efforts. He committed more troops and juggled the command replacing old war heroes with vigorous young ones. -
The Treaty of Paris Ends the War
The French and Indian War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in February 1763.The British received Canada from France and Florida from Spain, but permitted France to keep its West Indian sugar islands and gave Louisiana to Spain.The order got tougher the American colonies significantly by removing their European rivals to the north and south and opening the Mississippi Valley to westward growth. -
Impact of the Seven Years’ War on the American Revolution
The British crown borrowed heavily from British and Dutch bankers to fund the war,doubling British national debt.King George II argued that since the French and Indian War benefited the colonists by securing their borders,they should put up to paying down the war debt.To defend his newly won territory from future attacks,King George II also decided to install permanent British army units in the Americas,which required additional sources of revenue. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19,kicked off the American Revolutionary War. Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. On the night of April 18th,hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. -
Fighting Breaks Out in Lexington and Concord
At dawn on April 19, 700 British troops went to Lexington and came onto 77 army's gathered on the town green. A British major yelled, “Throw down your arms! Ye villains, ye rebels.” The heavily out taken army had just been ordered by their commander to disperse when a shot rang out. To this day, no one knows which side fired first.
